London, UK ( Pressreleaseroom ) August 7, 2009 – It’s certainly something lots of marketing experts are talking about, but just how small businesses should go about building an online community is harder to understand. Ben Dyer has built a 10,000 member community for his business and he shares the lessons he’s learned in a new article on Marketing Donut.

Dyer says that while a community is a powerful way to engage with your customers, building one requires patience and perseverance.

“For every community I have seen fail due to lack of traffic, two have the plug pulled because of a perceived lack of progress” he says.

Dyer says the other key ingredients of success are: leadership, ground rules, taking criticism on the chin, and making sure the community caters to everyone, not just the “fanatics”.

“Running a community is hard work, but it can be a fantastically rewarding experience for both you and your customers. The reality is that if you have a successful company, product or service, your customers will be talking about you anyway. What you need to decide is whether you are willing to facilitate the conversation.”

Backed by Google and Royal Mail, Marketing Donut is a free marketing resource that’s been developed specially for small business. Practical and no-nonsense, Marketing Donut covers all aspects of small business marketing, from branding through to internet marketing, from direct marketing through to generating PR for your business.

Further information:

* The Marketing Donut is at http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk

Contact details:
Mick Dickinson
BHP Information Solutions
tel: 0117 904 2224
info@marketingdonut.co.uk

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London, UK ( Pressreleaseroom ) July 17, 2009 – Making your most valuable customers feel valued with a carefully-selected gift could deliver the same return as a direct mail to 1000 people or an advert in the local newspaper, says a new expert article on free small business marketing resource Marketing Donut.

“Merchandising might seem like an unnecessary cost during the recession, but if you set clear objectives and select the right merchandise for your target audience, it can generate a valuable return on investment,” says the article on Marketing Donut.

The article says merchandising delivers benefits such as: connecting with customers, raising awareness of the business, and driving sales.

Marketing Donut expert Andy Preston says that with merchandising it’s important to be clear about what you want to achieve. “For example, do you want customers to sign up to your newsletter and communicate with you more, or to drive new customers to your website and increase online sales?”

It’s also important to choose an item of merchandise that’s appropriate for your business.

“So if you’re in financial services you could portray your reliability with something practical, and if you’re in the leisure sector, you should create something fun. For example, a go-kart business could distribute wind-up mini racers.”

The article also has advice about choosing suppliers and methods of distribution.

Marketing Donut is a free marketing resource that’s backed by Google and Royal Mail. It’s got thousands of expert tools and information covering all aspects of small business sales and marketing.

Further information:

* The Marketing Donut is at www.marketingdonut.co.uk

Contact details:
Mick Dickinson
BHP Information Solutions
tel: 0117 904 2224
info@marketingdonut.co.uk

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